Phoenix bit her lip and frowned.
At only eighteen years of age, Lily had seen more death than anyone should ever have to. The passing of her sister had hit the hardest though. Phoenix could still remember Lily’s anguished scream when Ethan broke the news to her. And yet somehow, Lily had shoved all of her grief aside to focus on helping them stop Darius and the witches. It was only now that the toll was beginning to show.
The thing about grief was that it couldn’t be ignored forever. Eventually, it found its way to the surface.
She pulled her eyes away from the young witch to look at Ethan, who stood with his back to the panoramic window that spanned the length of the room. A rough coat of stubble covered his jaw, highlighting the tense set of muscles as he, too, watched Lily. When he finally turned his gaze towards her, his brown eyes echoed her own concern, and she couldn’t help but notice that he also looked worn out.
Behind her, Abi cleared her throat. “Hi,” she said with a pointed wave.
As if a spell had been broken, everyone suddenly seemed to remember why they were there and set about rearranging themselves to make space. Phoenix plonked herself between Nate and Abi on the sofa after Shade moved to one of the lone recliners with a glare in her direction. Ethan joined Lily on the smaller two-seater. Not that his choice of seat mattered to her.
“Okay, so we know the Council were due to meet last night,” Ethan started, bringing the low murmur of conversation to a halt. “My dad hasn’t been able to reach William, and he needs to tread carefully in case the Council find out about our involvement. So, for now we’re on our own.”
Phoenix pointedly ignored the piercing stare he directed at her and the uneasy flutter in her stomach.
“The Council called that meeting for a reason,” he continued when she didn’t react. “Vicktor will have told them about you, even if he hasn’t told them about the prophecy, which I think we can assume he has. It’s not safe, Phoenix, and the longer you stay in Dublin, the more dangerous it becomes.”
She blew out an exasperated breath, sick to death of the broken record. “Why should I run? I haven’t done anything wrong.”
Shade snorted and sat forward to rest his forearms on his knees. His icy blue eyes held hers, the challenge clear. “Do you really think it matters? Your very existence calls into question their authority. An inter-species relationship allowed to continue and produce offspring? If the Lore find out about you, the Council will appear weak. Do you really think they’ll let that happen?”
The rebuttal stuck in her throat. Phoenix knew he was right, but still she rallied against the idea of being punished for something completely out of her control. Their edict was bullshit anyway.
Ethan stayed silent, watching her as she battled the conflicting emotions churning in her gut. She didn’t want to face the Council – she really didn’t – but she wasn’t leaving. They had no right to make her.
“What will happen to Phoenix if the Council does come?” Abi reached out to give her hand a squeeze.
“It’s hard to say,” Ethan answered. “We’ve got no precedent for this situation, but the Council doesn’t tend to look kindly on anything that threatens the order of things.”
“And Phoenix does that?”
Ethan nodded.
Abi turned to her, still gripping her hand, and Phoenix felt her heart drop. Her friend’s face was tight with worry; she knew immediately this was why Abi had come. Tonight had been a carefully orchestrated setup.
“Why are you still here?”
The question was rhetorical, of course. Abi was smart enough to figure out the answer for herself, but it hung in the air between them.
After they’d met Vicktor, the CLO rep, Ethan had convinced her to go stay with his pack in Donegal. She’d been so afraid she’d lose her parents all over again if they were forced to face the Council. Well, she lost them anyway. And when Darius took Abi, he’d shown her just how much more she stood to lose.
“The pack’s offer of protection still stands. It wasn’t solely for the benefit of your parents.” Ethan’s voice was gentle, his gaze sympathetic, but the determined set to his jaw remained.
“As long as Abi stays in Dublin, I’m staying.” It wasn’t up for debate. She wouldn’t leave her friend vulnerable again.
All eyes in the room turned to Abi. Her hand tightened in Phoenix’s and she squirmed under their scrutiny.
“Have we had any luck locating Darius?” Phoenix quickly diverted, taking pity on her friend. She knew how hard Abi had worked to build herself up from nothing. She’d never ask her to leave.
“Afraid not,” Nate answered. His tone was a mix of frustration and admiration. “I don’t know how they’re doing it, but the vamps are doing a damn good job of covering his trail.”
“Are you sure he’s still alive? That sun trick of yours did a lot of damage.” Shade tilted his head and considered her, his gaze intense as if he was really seeing her for the first time.
She yanked her hand away from Abi and clasped it with her other hand in her lap, suddenly conscious of the damage they were capable of. “He’s alive.”
“What about the Council?” Abi looked at Ethan. “If Vicktor tells them about Phoenix, he’ll tell them about Darius too. Surely they should be the ones to deal with him?”
The room fell silent.
What she said made sense – logically, at least. But the tension that filled the room spoke volumes. The Council was powerful and also unpredictable. Phoenix didn’t know about the others, but she could think of a million things she’d prefer to do than rely on that group of megalomaniacs for her safety. Like play Russian roulette. With explosive silver bullets.
She blew out a slow breath and forced the thoughts of Darius from her mind. Good old Uncle D. It was still hard to hear his name without feeling a lance of pain through her very core. She’d tried in vain to reconcile the monster with the man she’d once known, but it still didn’t make sense to her. Hopefully the scars she’d given him were as long-lasting as the ones he’d left on her heart.
“What’s our next step with the prophecy?” she asked, grasping for something practical, though no less terrifying, to deal with.
***
Ethan tried to focus on the conversation around him, but his gaze kept slipping back to Phoenix. She might’ve thought that redirecting the discussion would get her off the hook, but she was very wrong. He’d lock her in the apartment if needed. She wasn’t getting out of here until she saw sense.
He’d hoped that asking Abi along would help him. Play the guilt card a bit. He even thought he was onto a winner for one whole, precious minute, but he’d underestimated how closely linked Phoenix’s actions were to her friend’s.
Even with Abi on his side, he wasn’t confident their combined pressure would be enough to get Phoenix to leave, at least not while Abi stayed behind. Hell, if he was honest with himself, he could mostly understand why she was being stubborn. Maybe even respected her for it. Unfortunately, respect wasn’t going to keep her alive.
With a huff of frustration, he cracked his neck and stood; he needed some space to clear his head. After a quick pit stop in the kitchen to top up the refreshments – minus Shade’s bag of blood, didn’t want to freak out the human – he headed to the bathroom at the end of the hall to take a leak.
As he washed his hands and splashed water over his face, a sound came from the hallway.
Can’t a man get two minutes peace?
He opened the door and pulled up short when he found Abi in the hall, her hands nervously entwining as she stared towards the bathroom.
“Sorry, did you need to –” He moved aside and indicated for her to go ahead, but she didn’t budge.
A battle waged war behind her blue eyes, and a sudden sense of unease set his Spidey senses tingling. “Abi, is everything okay?”
She opened her mouth to respond but closed it again and shook her head.
“Is there somewhere we can talk that we won’t b
e overheard?” She looked towards the living area and bit her lip.
The sense of unease grew stronger. He moved past her to open the door on the opposite side of the hall and, with a gentle hand on her back, ushered her into his bedroom. The door closed with a soft click behind them and he sat down on the bed, waiting for her to speak.
For a time, she simply paced.
The room wasn’t small by any standards, but the super-king size bed and wall of wardrobes left little space for her to manoeuvre before she had to turn around again. He watched her with a detached fascination and wondered if there would be a path worn in the plush navy carpet by the time she finished.
“I should be talking to Phoenix about this, but I’m afraid if I tell her … I told myself there was no point saying anything. I mean, Darius was obviously crazy, right? And once he was gone, I just figured everything would go back to normal. The whole thing seemed so surreal. I didn’t really think –”
She wrung her hands and turned to face him.
“Phoenix has to die.”
Jaded by the conversation, Phoenix slumped back into the large cushions behind her. They were going around in circles, and everyone was starting to snipe at each other.
Well, actually, Nate and Shade were starting to snipe at each other. Lily stayed quiet, staring off into space, unless she was asked a direct question, and Abi still hadn’t come back from the bathroom. How long did it take to pee anyway?
A niggle of concern crept down her spine and she pushed herself up from the groove she’d settled into. No one even looked her way as she slipped out of the living room and made her way down the hall.
She was just about to call out to Abi and offer to send a search party when she noticed the bathroom door was ajar. Low murmuring came from the room on the opposite side of the hall, and she stared at the closed door of Ethan’s bedroom.
Now that she’d become aware of the clandestine conversation, Abi and Ethan’s voices were clearly distinguishable. A pang of something she didn’t want to examine too closely caused her stomach to do a little flip-flop.
What the hell was going on?
They spoke quietly, so she moved closer to the door, mentally ordering her internal narrative to shut up so she could hear what was being said. The distress in Abi’s voice was clear even before the words became audible. When they did, Phoenix’s heart stopped cold.
“That’s what he said. The only way to prevent the prophecy is for Phoenix to die.”
A buzzing sound filled her ears and the narrow hallway closed in on her. Whatever was said after that was lost as her head begin to spin and her vision blurred.
She’d known. Some part of her deep down had known. Sure, she’d even used the threat of ending her own life against Darius. But to hear the words out loud …
The bedroom door swung open and Phoenix found herself face to face with Ethan. The small muscle in his jaw was hopping, and the earlier image she’d had didn’t seem so funny anymore. Behind him, Abi sat on the bed, looking dejected as she stared at the ground.
The moment stretched forever, the silence tangible and oppressive. Eventually, Abi raised her tear-filled eyes and whispered, “I’m sorry.”
***
A heavy silence filled the living room, and Phoenix could feel their eyes burning into her. She pulled her knees to her chest and tried to make herself smaller in the black leather recliner that mirrored Shade’s.
What were they expecting her to do? Scream? Cry? A small part of her actually wanted to laugh. But the rest, well, that was just numb.
Ethan’s announcement that they knew what the prophecy said had grabbed everyone’s attention immediately. Even Lily in her subdued state had jerked her head up in surprise. The same question came from everyone’s lips: “How?”
How indeed.
Abi cast a pained glance in her direction before repeating the explanation she’d given Ethan in the bedroom.
“When Darius … had me, he spoke about the prophecy. Gloated might be more accurate.” Abi shuddered, a haunted look darkening her red-rimmed eyes. “He liked to play head games to show he could hurt me without even touching me. He took great pleasure in informing me that the only way to stop the prophecy was for Phoenix to die.”
She spoke the last words softly, but every one of them was like a blade slicing through Phoenix’s skin.
“So, if Ethan had killed her to start with, this would already be over.” Shade’s voice was cold as he broke the silence.
The answering growl from Ethan made the hairs stand up on the back of Phoenix’s arms.
But she didn’t need him to defend her because Shade was right. Her death would’ve stopped it all. Annabelle’s murder. Abi’s torture. Her parents’ sacrifice. All of it had been for nothing.
“Oh no you don’t.” Ethan pointed a warning finger at her. “You don’t get to play martyr in this.”
She opened her mouth to argue – she wasn’t playing anything – but before she could speak, Nate stood with his hands held up in surrender.
“How about we get all the details before anyone goes making any rash decisions?” He looked pointedly at Shade and Ethan, then her before turning his attention to Abi. “Did Darius say anything else? Anything at all that might help us?”
“There was a scroll. It looked pretty old and had some kind of wax seal on it. I couldn’t make out the seal properly, but it seemed familiar, like a scales or –”
“The Council,” Lily whispered.
Phoenix’s stomach dropped and she swallowed back the bile that forced its way up her throat.
“Shit.” Shade let out a low whistle and leaned back in his seat.
Abi looked around, her brow furrowed in confusion. “What does that mean? Is Darius working with the Council?”
“Not necessarily.” Nate flicked his hair out of his eyes and started pacing as he worked through his thoughts. “We found texts on the prophecy in the Council archives, so we knew they were aware of it.”
“How did Darius get the scroll if he’s not working with them?”
Nate shrugged. “There was no mention of a scroll in anything I found. There was reference to someone named Cassandra, the Horsemen, and a tearing of the fabric that protects our world. That’s all.”
“Terror, destruction, death to man. The fires of hell o’ertake the land.” Abi’s voice shook as she spoke the words. Everyone froze.
“What did you say?” Ethan leaned forward, barely contained urgency visible in the tension that ran from the hunched muscles of his upper back to his clasped fists.
“That was what the scroll said. Or at least, how Darius read it.” Abi stared into the distance, her nose scrunching in concentration. “So long as she alone does stand, shall the Horsemen walk the land.” She shook her head, tears glistening in her eyes as her shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry. I should have said something. I just –”
A strange sense of detachment settled over Phoenix. It hurt to see the look of regret on her friend’s face, and a part of her wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around Abi and tell her it’d be all right. But she couldn’t. Because Abi’s words had forced her to face the truth she’d been ignoring: It wasn’t over.
For the past few weeks, her parent’s death had given her something to focus on other than the stupid prophecy, and she’d let herself wallow in the haze of grief. She’d become complacent. Even with the nightly patrols, and the work she’d been doing on her fae powers, she’d forgotten what was really at stake. She’d taken each demon possession as an inconvenience to be dealt with rather than a sign of what was to come.
“How long?” she asked, her tongue like sandpaper in her mouth. “Did the scroll say how long we have?”
“When the clock strikes midnight on your twenty-fifth year.”
Ten months. A lot of innocent people could die in ten months.
She pushed herself up from the recliner, suddenly feeling like the room was shrinking around her. “Nate, you mind if I go patrollin
g with you tonight?”
Ethan was in front of her in a flash. His hands gripped her upper arms and his expression pleaded with her. “We have time to figure this out. Promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”
A tight nod was the only answer she gave before she yanked her body out of his grip and grabbed her leather jacket from the back of the chair. She pulled her car keys from her pocket and threw them to Abi.
“I’ll be home late.”
With that, she made her way to the door, not waiting to see if Nate followed.
The buzzing in Lily’s head grew louder as she watched Ethan pace the living room. Without a word, she stood from her chair and squeezed past Shade. His eyes followed her as she left, but she ignored him. She needed to get out of there.
First stop was her bedroom. She locked the door quietly behind her before lifting her mattress to retrieve the Ouroboros, still tucked away safely in the wooden box. She averted her eyes so as not to see the photo on the lid, but Annabelle’s smiling face drew her gaze back like a magnet she couldn’t resist. Bitterness welled up inside her, making her gut roil painfully.
No one called after her as she slipped out of the apartment without bothering to grab a jacket. No one noticed.
The night was icy cold as she walked along the docks, focusing only on her breath as it fogged the air in front of her and the burn of the wind against her face. The cold was an anaesthetic and she welcomed it.
For so long, she’d let the guilt eat away at her. Night after night she’d lie in bed, thinking of the people who had sacrificed themselves so she could have the Ouroboros. But what about her? What about what she’d sacrificed?
With Abi’s words, the guilt had changed. It was shifting around inside of her, morphing into something alien and terrifying.
None of it mattered. The sacrifices, the Ouroboros, the chance to fix things. All of it was pointless. Because Phoenix still lived. And as long as she lived, the rest of them would continue to suffer.
She walked for a while, trying to sort through the screaming thoughts that fought for attention in her head, and when she looked up, she was surprised to find herself at a busy junction near O’Connell Street.
2 Minutes to Midnight: Urban Fantasy Midnight Trilogy Book 2 Page 3